Mt. Pleasant Council Presents Different Options For New Development

Mt. Pleasant councilman Ken Glasson says he's tired of the way the town's council meetings have gone recently.

"It doesn't have to be a circus every night at town hall when we have a council meeting," Glasson said.

The recent debates have been over the Coleman Revitalization Advisory Board (CRAB) report. The reports used input from residents and professionals to create recommendations for the city's future. It included height restrictions for areas including 75 feet for Moultrie Plaza, the Sea Island Shopping Center, and The Boulevard, which standing at 60 feet right now.

Some of the more heated debate recently has been over its 55-foot restriction for Shem Creek, where a developer wants to build a combination office building and parking garage.

Glasson isn't opposed to changing the plan.

"Seven years later there's been some questions as to one part need to be adjusted or another and I'm fine with that," Glasson said.

But fellow councilman Gary Santos says change is needed now.

"The CRAB had an opportunity, and they did a great job and they put their report forward and now it's our job to look at it, massage it, and make some adjustments, just like we did with the Coleman Boulevard Overlay district," Santos said.

Santos says the proposed building is why the CRAB needs to be changed now.

"A 55-foot structure on Shem Creek will dominate the skyline on Shem Creek, it will take away the ambiance," Santos said. "It'll take away the character of Shem Creek."

But Glasson says making too many changes isn't fair to developers.

"It's not set in stone in the sense that can we change the heights? Of course we can," Glasson said. "But changing the heights and the process of we're going to change here, change it here, change it here. We're not going to do that."

He's proposing a new committee to look at the report.

"Before we jump forward and continue to make changes here and there without knowing the unintended consequences, I think we need to dial back and put a group of civilians and professionals together and review the CRAB report and see if there's some recommended changes," Glasson said.

Santos says that's what the planning commission is for.

"They've been doing it for a long time and they've done a great job," Santos said. "I don't know why we can't continue to do that. I don't think we need another committee."

Mayor Linda Page said today that she will consider Glasson's idea, but didn't give a timeline on when a decision would be made.